Ruslan Kogan

Ruslan Kogan

CEO, Kogan

Ruslan Kogan has come from extremely humble beginnings to become one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs.

Ruslan’s parents came to Australia with just $90 in their pockets. They worked multiple jobs each to makes ends meet, at the same time as studying English and raising their children, all to give Ruslan and his sister a chance at a better life. Growing up in this environment, he learnt very quickly that if he wanted anything, he would have to work hard for it.

He became interested in technology early, building his first computer at the age of nine. Living in Elsternwick housing commission flats in the suburbs of Melbourne, he went into business with himself when he was just ten years old. He would find lost golf balls, clean them, repackage them in egg cartons, and sell them to golfers at Elsternwick Golf Course on weekends. His entrepreneurial flair became even more obvious during his teenage years when he launched a string of businesses including a car wash operation, mobile phone repair business, and a web design agency. Since the age of 10, he has started over 20 businesses.

He attended Melbourne High School where he completed his VCE and finished top of Victoria in Information Processing & Management, and then received a Scholarship to complete a Bachelor of Business Systems (Information Technology) at Monash University. By the age of 23, Ruslan had worked at the IT departments of Bosch, GE and Telstra, and was a management consultant at Accenture. Disappointed that he couldn’t personally afford the latest technology, despite his well paying job, he spotted a gap in the market. He realised that the big retailers were operating on very high margins, and there was an opportunity for a better value, direct, new style of retail business

Despite everyone telling him he was crazy, Ruslan started Kogan in his parent’s garage, with a new brand of televisions. Kogan.com has rapidly grown to become the go-to store for the best prices on a wide range of consumer goods — electronics, homewares, lifestyle, beauty, furniture, fitness, toys, travel, tools, appliances and more. In recent years, the range has expanded from several hundred, to tens of thousands of products

Kogan.com is now a multinational consumer electronics and online retail business with millions of happy customers. In eight years, the company has gone from garage to global, becoming the most efficient retailer in the world. It now has offices in Australia, China, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Kogan.com is a challenger brand operating in some of the most competitive industries in the world. Its direct-to-consumer, online-only business model means it can undercut the biggest retailers. The low margin, high volume approach has seen Kogan.com become the biggest online retailer in Australia.

Due to his experience and business nous, Ruslan has been invited as a guest author for several leading publications including Gizmodo, Forbes, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Business Insider, VentureBeat and News Ltd. Ruslan was invited to join the LinkedIn Influencer program, alongside the likes of Bill Gates and Richard Branson.

Ruslan has donated thousands of hours of his time to help inspire and inform future generations by speaking at schools, universities, business conferences and community and youth organisations. He loves sharing his experience and insight with budding entrepreneurs around the world.

Awards:

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 Southern Region Winner

Deloitte Technology Fast 50 2012, 2013

Top 50 Most Influential People in Tech by The Australian – joining Mark Zuckerberg and Mike Cannon-Brookes as the only Gen Ys on the list